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GWAR in Austin

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GWAR
Emo's Austin — Austin, TX
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About GWAR

GWAR is a shock rock band that formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, though the project's roots trace back further to the late 1970s. The group is built around Dave Brockie's larger-than-life stage persona and the band's commitment to elaborate, grotesque costumes and theatrical brutality. Their shows are essentially performance art projects where the line between music and spectacle dissolves completely. Songs like "Rag Time" and "Sick of You" established them as serious musicians underneath the carnage, with actual songwriting chops that proved this wasn't just novelty act stuff. The band has maintained a cult following for decades by refusing to soften their approach or explain the point. They tour relentlessly, treat every show like it's their last, and have influenced everyone from shock rap to modern metal theater bands. The costumes have evolved constantly, the venue damage is real, and the audience expectation is simple: come ready to be horrified and entertained in equal measure.

Known for Rag Time, I'll Be Your Bolton, Sick of You, Slaughterama, Have You Seen Me

GWAR + Austin

GWAR played Radio East on May 22, 2025, and the 15-song set was pure spectacle and carnage, as intended. Womb With a View and The Salaminizer were early highlights, and Jack the World kept the pit moving. Viking Death Machine and Immortal Corrupter held down the heavy middle, and the deep cut Lot Lizard proved GWAR's newer material can hang with the classics. The encore closed with Licksore into Sick of You — the latter being the closest thing GWAR has to a goodnight song. Austin got exactly what it came for.

GWAR in Austin News

Live Music in Austin

Austin's music scene is built on the principle that anything goes, which makes it surprisingly hospitable to GWAR's particular brand of theatrical metal excess. The city's DIY ethos and refusal to take itself too seriously create space for the kind of unhinged artistry GWAR traffics in. It's a town where shock value is treated as legitimate artistic expression, not a gimmick.

Austin road trip to see GWAR?

Stay in East Austin, where you'll find better restaurants and a neighborhood that actually feels alive. Dinner at Suerte—confident, creative food in a space that doesn't try too hard. During the day, wander the galleries and vintage shops along East 6th, or head to Zilker Park to sit with a coffee and watch Austin be itself. If you've got time, catch live music at Mohawk or Hotel Vegas—smaller rooms where you can see how Austin's songwriting community actually operates. The city's best asset isn't any single thing; it's the density of good people doing interesting work.

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